Flying machine



T. A. BRING FLYING MACHINE Feb. 21, 1933 Filed June 6, 1929 6Sheets-Sheet 1 T. A. BRING FLYING MACHINE Feb 23, 1933.

6 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 6, 1929 Wwmw 45% Feb. 21, 1933.'

T. A, DRING FLYING MACHINE Filed June 6, 1929 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 T. A.DRING FLYING MACHINE Feb. 21, 1933.

Filed June 6. 1929 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 T. A. DRING FLYING MACHINE Feb. 21,1933.

Filed June 6, 1929 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 IQTIUIPNEY Feb. 21, 1933. v T, A.DRING 1,898,764

FLYING MACHINE Filed June 6, 1929 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 NM AN Patentecl Feb.21, 1933 UNITED STATES THOMAS AUGUSTUS BRING, or mnewoon, ENGLAND FLYINGMACHINE Application filed June 6, 1929, Serial No. 368,841, and in GreatBritain June 14, 19 2 8.

The present invention deals with improve ments in flying machineswhereby such machines may be caused to rise or descend in a verticalplane, sustained in the air, and also moved in a horizontal plane. 7

According tothe present invention there is provided a method of liftingor sustaining a flying machine by the expansive force of op- I posingstreams of compressed air produced by non-feathering rotary propellersarranged well towards one end of the body of the machine, said streamsacting on the underside of the body and/ or other supporting surfaces ofthe machine and producing a resultant act ing through the centre ofgravity of the machine.

For lifting, or lifting and hovering flight, the forces acting are soarranged as to give no resultant in line with the longitudinal axis 0 ofthe machine, but for horizontal flight such a resultant may be given as,by way of example, hereinafter appears.

One important feature of this invention is that the same mechanism whichproduces the streams of air'th at give a vertical component to supportthe machine may also be used to produce backward or forward motion.

The machine is supported in the vertical plane by forces acting in anupward direction 0 onthe under side of the body, the resultant of whichpasses upwards through the centre of gravity, an even keel beingmaintained by the sum of the moments of these forces, acting to the rearof the centre of gravity, being equal to the sum of the moments actingto the front of the centre of gravity.

When, in order to travel-forward, the fans or revolving wings are thrownforward, the 4 angle of the air currents passing under the body to therear of the centre of gravity becomes more acute with respect to thelongitudinal axis of the machine, and, consequently, less powerful, butthe resultant of the forces is applied at a greater distance from thecentre of gravity. Conversely, the air currents in front of the centreof gravity becomes less acute, and therefore give a more powerfulresultant which is applied however nearer to the centre of gravity; '7

The components of the moments alone are altered, but the moments remainthe same.

- V The effect of the meeting of the two streams of compressed air is toproduce a'pressureat the place of meeting greater than the normal.Further the air will expand from the neighbourhood of this place anduprushing streams will impinge on the underside of the body and/orwings'of the machine. In some cases these streams rushing upwards pastthe sides of the body may'produce by induction a decrease of pressureabove the body and/or planes. 7 v

As many embodiments of the presentinvention maybe made and asthe partshere'- in described may be varied in many ways, it is to be understoodthat all matter herein set forth or shown in the accompanying drawingsis to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

In the drawings 1 Fig. 1 is a front elevation, Fig. 2 aside elevationwith the vanes turned clockwise through 45 with respect to Fig. l, andFig. 3

a plan View of the machine.

Figs. 4 and 5 arerespectively elevation and plan of the portside fans orvanes, and Figs. 6 and 7 similar views of the starboardside fans orvanes; i V Fig. 8 is a diagrammatic view indicating in full lines thecone produced for forward flight, in dotted outline for hovering orlift, and in morse lines for backward flight.

' Fi s; 9, 10 and 11 are views of the'crown whee s hereinafter referredto.

Figs. 12 and 13 illustrate the control devices for the crown wheels andallied parts.

Fig. 14 shows a drive for the fans or vanes each fan having its ownengine. x

According to one way in which itiispro- 9 posedto carry out thepresentinvention a re-: volving shaft 1 ismounted transversely of thebody of the aircraft to extend on opposite sides thereof, and sodisposed as to lie at right-angles to both the longitudinal axis chine.V r

On the-opposite projecting ends of this shaft are vanes which produceand discharge pposing streams of compressed air whoselnand the verticalaxis of the body of themanetic energy is in part destroyed on mutualimpact thereby producing a lifting force.

The machine is supported in the air by the expansive force of opposingstreams of compressed air in the form of truncated cones produced by theblades or vanes 2, which streams are intercepted beneaththe fuselage ofthe machine. V

The stream producing means shown take the form of a plurality ofnon-feathering blades or vanes 2 arranged welhtoivard one end of thebody.

The fan shafts 3 as shown are arranged so as to be vadapted tobemoved-forwardto gether, but they might'be arranged 'so that one couldhex-advanced some-whatsfanther -forward than the :other, for steeringgpurzposes. Lifting. or hovering-flight is produced when theaxes'ofzthe; fans arercoaax ial ;.with the axis Olfi"; thegirevolvingzshaft. 1 as shown in Fig; .9, an'cinclination: of; the'fa'n; shaftsforwardly produces; fonward flight, and? an inclination rearm'ardlybackward flight, theunagchizne be ing sustained during -::these flightsSteeringby avertiealw rudder may also be a dopted, and this,HlQlihOdl-Off steening; is shown, the jrudden beingi indicatedi by; thereference numeral 4:. r

'Thesbody ofwthe machihev-asxshown is :provided with zpl anes; or;sustaining surfaces 5 and fi loeate'dibehind and/ or above the rotaryfans 2 andrsimilan sustaining; surfaces: :may extend longitudinallyoiirthe machine in .orden -to';ob struct:thmair-streams which-may; bediverted longitudinally beneath the-body. I

One way of driving the revolvingshaft 1 may;.-ber-as follows;:*w- V Eahhendhofthie shaft 1 passes? throughz'a bearing) into a: hinged-"easing:;7 whe're it' ter minates in a crowmwheeLSI: Grown wheels 9-imeshingn-iwithezthevcrown wheels: 8 are :attanh'ed 2 to theshaftsr3'fiandtpassing. through similanbearingsin the same casingW.

Vhen all four crown wheels2arew-fullyz" meshJanditheicasingsaclosed; thethree shafts willrbeiirretheassume/straight line; and thecrciwnowheelsawill revolve as solids. This; is thehoveringoi'aliftingflight(position; Hoveringeiis maintained byregulating the: pressures of the streams imbalanced-;relationshiptoitheiforeecof gravity.- v

For forward fiightithe-outer covers of the crown wheeli: casings, whichare; hinged, are opened by levers'hereinafrter referred-to. ap-; pliedefronritheacockpit; iandecarryrwithythem the .shortcfaimshafts and fanstThe. :crown wheelsmrer-then stillnin mesh; on one side ofthizirwcircumference; and: :are; :consequently driven at an angle-withtheicentralwshaft.

The enginemay be mounted in suitable position andthe engine shaft whichmaybe provided with a clutch, carries a worm meshe ing with: a. -sworm;wheel at ithe i centre; of the transverse shaftili.

Asstated each pai tofscrown wheels runs a hinged casing, or circularbox, the inner half or the equivalent capable of a partial rotation inthe vertical'plane, and-actuated from the cockpit bya hand-wheel l2 andworm 13, the

latter meshing with a worm-wheel 1& on the axis. of. the cross-head. ordisc or the like.

When all "four crown wheels are in full mesh, the central transverseshaft andfthe two fan shafts-are in the same straight line and thecrownwheels revol a e as solids. r

[n this positiomtlieinachine-isdifted;and

sustained in the verticalplane by anzincrease of ,a t n osphericpressure against the lower part ofthe body. assisted it-may also be by al'GdliGtlOtL-Of the-pressureabove) 1 due-to'the mutually. interceptingstreams orintercepted streams of compressed-airbelow-the body of themachine,

The forces producedwby reaction against-the surfaces of; the .v-anesfrom the inertial of: the air, which givesresultants I acting; outwardlyin line; with the rotating shafts neutralize one another. This is thehovering positioin. These lat-terforces are b rou ght in to play byswinging open thecrow-n wheel cases randthus obtaining aseeond resultantin linenvith the longgaxis of -the body of: the machine, whichse-rves todraw-the machine forward.-

This is done without-in -any- -way reducing the-forcessustaining-thebody ofthe machine. In shape the :vanes' of-the revolving fans- Inayfollow broadly thecontours of therwings of such .a' hovering insectas-cthea commondrone-fly m'stalz'atenam andi mayibe affixed at tlteir-=ba-sesato the surfaces of Littlangular or quadrangularrpyramid:15,theiinner .-edge;-of each wing vane being flushwith the edge oftheisidemime-pyramid,- ;but the outer-e dgeproj ects-beyond the oppositeedge: Ea eh Vane, therefore, zproj cots-rover the one/ ho. 10W? 1 V i iThe angle which the-outer edge .ofrthe vane: makes with theshaftrdetenmines to some ex tent;- the anglecf the truncated-cone formedby- -thle outflowing currents-of air;- :but;this is also affected by theangularxvelooity,

The :-angle-% at: the apexof the 'pyramid by deterinining tli=e.-\outward inolin ation the.

surface of -the--.v-ane,- idetermin'essalso-theforceoftheth-rust;orltattacldl, against-the air; and

the-. direction aof its-reactions The stronger:

the-attackthe rless -fa vourab'le the direction of; its i reactionjandavice ve-rsa i The-ianglero-f the coni ealpath' sweptby the outeredgeseof eache vane whenfirotatinggis about 35 with the axisiofrotationabutiex i periment would be necessar to determine the optimumform for any mac ine.

WVith all vertical flight machines there is danger should engine troubleoccur. With the type shown the revolving fans will afford someassistance and if the centre of pressure is vertically in line with thecentre of gravity the machine will tend to fall on an even keel. I havealso shown in Fig. 3 an expanding or fan-like tail 16 to enable a pilotto plane down in a spiral in the event of engine failure. In ordinaryflight the tail is closed. The expansion of the tail by shifting thecentre of pressure a little more to the rear, gives the machine adownward inclination.

lVith two engines the risk of engine fail ure is enormously reduced,provided that the machinery is so arranged that either engine can driveboth fans in the event of its fellow being put out of action. This canbe arranged as follows, ancl is shown in Fig. 14.

Each of the two engines 17 and 18 is secured to a small platform, orbracket 19, capable of turning through an arc of 30 or 35 degrees in thehorizontal plane about a vertical spindle 20 attached to the outside ofthe body of the machine. Each fan shaft 3 is carried on bearings 21supported by such spindle and bracket. To the inner end of each fanshaft 3 is attached a crown wheel 22 of special form which, when the twofan shafts 8 are in the same straight line, lightly meshes with thecorresponding crown wheel on the other shaft. In this position the twocrown wheels revolve as asolid, each fan being driven by its own engine,and the speeds of both engines being synchronized by the coupling. Thedrives from the engines are through worms and worm-wheels, the latterbeingmounted on free-wheel clutches. The drives are indicated generallyby the reference 23.

The two engine platforms 19 are controlled by radius rods 24 from thecockpit by a handwheel and worm-wheel in a similar way to that shown inFigs. 12 and 13, which enable the pilot to draw towards him the twoplatforms, with all the machinery mounted thereon and thus throw forwardthe fans carried on the outside of the vertical spindles. This actiongradually draws the crown wheels out of mesh, but sufficient of theteeth on one side of each wheel remains in mesh to carry on the drive upto an angle of 35 degrees. At a lesser angle the wheels are more closelyengaged. Should either engine fail the wing shaft that it'had beendriving would automatically take its drive from the other engine throughthe crown-wheel couplings.

The rotating fans are made right-hand and left-hand and are notinterchangeable. Their motion as shown is Starboard side clockwise.

Port sideanti-clockwise.

They will not reverse or operate in the contrary direction.

The vanes may correspond to an aerofoil or flat board like form or moreconforming toportio'ns of planes than to the more usual parts ofhelicoidal'surfaoes, or they may increase in pitch towards the boss anddiminish in pitch towards the tips like or similar to a true pitchpropeller. The vanes or blade may also be made concave towardsthemachine, or/ and convex away from the machine, or/ and as astraight-faced or true-pitch blade or as an increasing pitchblade toincrease the angle of attack oftheiffollowing part of the blade.-

{Fixed wings or planes are not absolutely essential, but may be addedfor (a)- toprovide sufficient area to enable the craft to descendins'afetyin case of'engine trouble, (6) in {the case of the lower planeto supplement the area subject to air pressure, and in the case of theupper planeto cut off any rising currents ofair. I "The centre ofpressure on the under side of the body as well as the mean centre ofpressure on the two fixed planes will be some little distance to therear of the transverse shaft carrying the fans or vanes. The centre ofgravity will beso arranged that it is in a vertical line 'with andbetWeen'the mean centres of pressure.

"Cooling of the engines may be by of air ports in the sides of the body,and by gratings in the roof of the engine chamber through which the fanswill create a circulation of cold air.

In both constructions described the control of the drives provides forslow backward flight, as well as hovering and forward flight.

It is to be understood that bracing systems will be provided at anynecessary parts of a machine.

What I claim is 1. Apparatus for lifting or sustaining a flying machineby the expansive forces produced by mutual impact of opposing streams ofcompressed air, comprising non-feathering propellers arranged welltowards one end of the body, mountings therefor, each propellerconsisting of a plurality of blades rotating about a fixed axis with theinner and outer edges of the blades sweeping through conical paths so asto produce streams of compressed air, which streams are opposed in pairsand create expansive forces by mutual impact beneath the fuselage of themachine, means for rotating said propellers, and means for altering theaxis of rotation of the propellers.

2. Apparatus for lifting or sustaining a flyingmachine by the expansiveforces produced by mutual impact of opposing streams of compressed air,comprising non-feathering propellers arranged well towards one end ofthe body, mountings therefor, each propeller way i ns tin p re-nlmety-zo b a esr ati about a fixed axis with the inner angl outer edges ofthe bladessweeping throughconical Q pa1?h$;sp asrtoproducestreams ofcompressed fair vhieh streamsrare opposed in pairs and create, expansiveforces by mutual impact .bew

neaththe fuselage pithe; machine; meansior rotating said propellers,--and means: for moy;-- in-g-gone p ropeller-=-baclqva rd orgforggvarrlfto a, greater .extea tithapthe-othe to,effect steering ;t ize=ta *p1 es V Apparatus forl lifting; or; sustaining .a flying ;macl 1ineby% the exgpansiverforces pro: du cedw. by mutual; impact of opposingstreams of compressed air, comprising non-feathering propellers arrangedwell towardsaonei:end of the-body,mountings therefor, each propellerconsistingsof a plurahtmof blades rotating aboutafixed axis withtherinnerandouter edges: ofithevblades sweepingthrou gh'gconicalpathssoas-tmproducestream-s oi compressed air, whichstreamsgare-qopposecl in pairs and create expansive forces bymutualimpact be-- neath-thefusel-age of. the-macliineq, each bladesubstantially; following a the contour; of the wingswof;thecommomdrone-fly (Eristalis fenaw); and means forrotatingrsaid'propel-g In testimony-whereof l affix? my'signature,

THQMAS :AUGUSTUS; BRING..-

